Putting people firstPublic serviceshttp://www.experientia.com/blog
Daily insights on user experience, experience design and people-centred innovationMon, 02 Mar 2015 16:12:59 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Changing behaviour for a better deal? Not as easy as it soundshttp://www.experientia.com/blog/changing-behaviour-for-a-better-deal-not-as-easy-as-it-sounds/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/changing-behaviour-for-a-better-deal-not-as-easy-as-it-sounds/#commentsMon, 23 Feb 2015 12:12:39 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17665There are many areas of life – e.g. utility providers – where we could be getting a better deal by making what seems to be an easy switch. Behavioural scientist Nathalie Spencer of The RSA asks why we don’t do it more often. In a first post she explains what makes us inert and stick […]]]>

There are many areas of life – e.g. utility providers – where we could be getting a better deal by making what seems to be an easy switch. Behavioural scientist Nathalie Spencer of The RSA asks why we don’t do it more often.

In a first post she explains what makes us inert and stick with often bad or suboptimal choices.

“The tendency to stick to the status quo, lack of urgency, present bias, and social norms come together in a perfect storm resulting in a lack of appetite to switch utility providers.”

Her second post explains how switching providers and changing behaviour can be encouraged, by taking aspects of our human nature into consideration.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/changing-behaviour-for-a-better-deal-not-as-easy-as-it-sounds/feed/0The Emergence of Law and Behavioural Science: A European Perspectivehttp://www.experientia.com/blog/the-emergence-of-law-and-behavioural-science-a-european-perspective/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/the-emergence-of-law-and-behavioural-science-a-european-perspective/#commentsSun, 22 Feb 2015 17:38:35 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17663The Emergence of Law and Behavioural Science: A European Perspective
by Anne-Lise Sibony (Université de Liège) and Alberto Alemanno (HEC Paris; NYU School of Law)
February 16, 2015
Introductory chapter to the forthcoming book: Nudge and the Law: A European Perspective [working title], by the same authors and published by Hart Publishing

Nudge and the Law explores the legal implications of the emergent phenomenon of behaviourally informed intervention. It focuses on the challenges and opportunities it may offer to the policymaking of the European Union. This dual focus on law and on Europe characterises our endeavour. This volume has been structured by taking as a point of the departure the current nudging debate, which mainly comprises two strands of enquiry: when is it legitimate for States to use psychology to inform policy? (the legitimacy debate) and, to the extent that it is legitimate, how can behavioural insights in practice be incorporated into the decision making processes? (the practicability debate). Against this backdrop we brought together scholars who could analyse what behavioural insights might bring to EU law, both at a horizontal level and at a sectoral level. This volume endeavours to present the results of their research in a manner that is accessible both to EU law specialists who are not yet familiar with behavioural sciences and to behavioural lawyers who are not specialists in EU law.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/the-emergence-of-law-and-behavioural-science-a-european-perspective/feed/0World Development Report 2015 explores “Mind, Society, and Behavior”http://www.experientia.com/blog/world-development-report-2015-explores-mind-society-and-behavior/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/world-development-report-2015-explores-mind-society-and-behavior/#commentsTue, 16 Dec 2014 10:34:46 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17443WASHINGTON, December 2, 2014 — Development policies based on new insights into how people actually think and make decisions will help governments and civil society achieve development goals more effectively. A richer and more accurate understanding of human behavior can make it easier to tackle such difficult development challenges as increasing productivity, breaking the cycle […]]]>

WASHINGTON, December 2, 2014 — Development policies based on new insights into how people actually think and make decisions will help governments and civil society achieve development goals more effectively. A richer and more accurate understanding of human behavior can make it easier to tackle such difficult development challenges as increasing productivity, breaking the cycle of poverty from one generation to the next, and acting on climate change, finds a new World Bank report.

People do not always make deliberative, independent decisions based on careful self-interested calculations, the report finds. Rather, they tend to think quickly and to use mental shortcuts and shared mindsets. By factoring this in, governments and other actors can design programs that make it easier for individuals to cooperate in the pursuit of shared goals.

To inspire a fresh look at how development work is done, the report outlines three principles of human decision making: thinking automatically, thinking socially, and thinking with mental models. Much of human thinking is automatic and depends on whatever comes to mind most effortlessly. All people are deeply social and many will cooperate as long as others do too, and they are influenced by social networks and norms. Finally, most people do not invent new concepts; rather they use mental models drawn from their societies and shared histories to interpret their experiences.

Interventions need to take account of these insights and be designed through a ‘learning by doing’ approach. The factors and mindsets affecting decisions are local and contextual. It is hard to predict in advance which aspects of program design and implementation will drive the choices people will make.

The report applies the three principles to multiple areas, including early childhood development, productivity, household finance, health and health care, and climate change.

The report stresses that focusing more closely on correctly defining and diagnosing problems can lead to better designed interventions. Since even experts’ initial assumptions about the causes of behavior can be wrong, the implementation period should test several interventions, each based on different assumptions about choice and behavior. After adoption, the interventions’ effects should inform new rounds of definition, diagnosis, design, implementation, and testing. The process of refinement should continue as interventions are scaled up.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/world-development-report-2015-explores-mind-society-and-behavior/feed/0How US state governments can improve customer servicehttp://www.experientia.com/blog/how-us-state-governments-can-improve-customer-service/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/how-us-state-governments-can-improve-customer-service/#commentsFri, 05 Dec 2014 12:10:15 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17432A McKinsey Center for Government survey finds that Americans are often dissatisfied with state services—and identifies significant opportunities for improvement. Deloitte measured the satisfaction of citizens by surveying approximately 17,000 people across 15 US states. This online survey included more than 100 questions asking citizens to rate their satisfaction across a range of activities, including […]]]>

A McKinsey Center for Government survey finds that Americans are often dissatisfied with state services—and identifies significant opportunities for improvement.

Deloitte measured the satisfaction of citizens by surveying approximately 17,000 people across 15 US states. This online survey included more than 100 questions asking citizens to rate their satisfaction across a range of activities, including state services overall, specific attributes of service delivery (such as speed), and specific types of services (for example, public transportation).

Several common themes emerged:

Speed, simplicity, and efficiency make citizens happier.

Satisfaction is often lower for more essential services.

People who don’t use a service are often more skeptical about its quality.

Citizens are less satisfied with government services than with private-sector services.

Most citizens prefer to interact with government online.

Deloitte’s analysis of the survey and their experience in the public and private sectors suggest that government leaders can take four steps to improve the customer experience in line with the private sector:

Put services for citizens on the leadership agenda.

Set priorities for innovation.

Focus transformation programs on service elements that matter most to the satisfaction of citizens.

Measure citizen satisfaction regularly.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/how-us-state-governments-can-improve-customer-service/feed/0[Book] Design for Policyhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/book-design-for-policy/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/book-design-for-policy/#commentsThu, 20 Nov 2014 10:31:02 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17390Design for Policy Edited by Christian Bason, Chief Executive, Danish Design Centre Series: Design for Social Responsibility Hardcover: 250 pages Publisher: Gower Pub Co; December 28, 2014 Design for Policy is the first publication to chart the emergence of collaborative design approaches to innovation in public policy. Drawing on contributions from a range of the […]]]>

Design for Policy is the first publication to chart the emergence of collaborative design approaches to innovation in public policy. Drawing on contributions from a range of the world’s leading academics, design practitioners and public managers, it provides a rich, detailed analysis of design as a tool for addressing public problems and capturing opportunities for achieving better and more efficient societal outcomes.

In his introduction, Christian Bason suggests that design may offer a fundamental reinvention of the art and craft of policy making for the twenty-first century. From challenging current problem spaces to driving the creative quest for new solutions and shaping the physical and virtual artefacts of policy implementation, design holds a significant yet largely unexplored potential.

The book is structured in three main sections, covering the global context of the rise of design for policy, in-depth case studies of the application of design to policy making, and a guide to concrete design tools for policy intent, insight, ideation and implementation. The summary chapter lays out a future agenda for design in government, suggesting how to position design more firmly on the public policy stage.

Design for Policy is intended as a resource for leaders and scholars in government departments, public service organizations and institutions, schools of design and public management, think tanks and consultancies that wish to understand and use design as a tool for public sector reform and innovation.

Contents

Preface
This book: an overview
Introduction: the design for policy nexus, Christian Bason

Section 1 Design in Context:

Design in policy: challenges and sources of hope for policymakers, Tom Bentley

Designing legitimacy: the case of a government innovation lab, Kit Lykketoft

The Branchekode.dk project: designing with purpose and across emergent organizational culture, Mariana Amatullo

Reflections on designing for social innovation in the public sector: a case study in New York City, Eduardo Staszowski, Scott Brown and Benjamin Winter

Friendly hacking into the public sector: (re)designing public policies within regional governments, François Jégou, Romain Thévenet and Stéphane Vincent

Section 3 Design Tools for Policy:

Tools for intent: strategic direction by design, John Body and Nina Terrey

Tools for insight: design research for policymaking, Andrea Siodmok

Tools for ideation: evocative visualization and playful modelling as drivers of the policy process, Joachim Halse

Tools for implementation, Simona Maschi and Jennie Winhall

The frontiers of design for policy, Christian Bason
Index

About the Editor

Christian Bason is Chief Executive of the Danish Design Centre (DDC), which works to strengthen the value of all forms of design in society. Before joining DDC, Christian headed MindLab, a cross-governmental innovation lab, and the public organization practice of Ramboll Management, a consultancy. Christian is also a university lecturer, and has presented to and advised governments around the world. He is a regular columnist and the author of four books on leadership, innovation and design, most recently Leading Public Sector Innovation: Co-creating for a Better Society. Christian holds an M.Sc. in political science from Aarhus University, executive education from Harvard Business School and the Wharton School, and is a doctoral fellow at Copenhagen Business School.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/book-design-for-policy/feed/0Creating government tech systems with excellent UX and ‘good enough’ securityhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/creating-government-tech-systems-with-excellent-ux-and-good-enough-security/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/creating-government-tech-systems-with-excellent-ux-and-good-enough-security/#commentsWed, 05 Nov 2014 06:53:39 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17356Gov.uk, the website of the UK Government’s Digital Service that merges the websites of all UK Government Departments and many other agencies and public bodies, has posted a draft guidance document on risk management of cyber security in technology projects. Based on user interviews and over ninety user stories, they found it to be essential […]]]>

Based on user interviews and over ninety user stories, they found it to be essential to allow important members of the IT project (such as senior capability owners and technical practitioners) to create a culture and environment in which their risk management activities could flourish.

Below are Gov.uk’s eight fundamental principles of effective approaches to risk management:
– Accept there will always be uncertainty
– Make everyone part of your delivery team
– Ensure the business understands the risks it is taking
– Trust competent people to make decisions
– Security is part of every technology decision
– User experience should be fantastic – security should be good enough
– Demonstrate why you made the decisions – and no more
– Understand that decisions affect each other

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/creating-government-tech-systems-with-excellent-ux-and-good-enough-security/feed/0Report outlines future of UK social design researchhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/report-outlines-future-of-uk-social-design-research/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/report-outlines-future-of-uk-social-design-research/#commentsSat, 25 Oct 2014 14:36:33 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17298Social Design Futures: HEI Research and the AHRC By Armstrong, Leah, Jocelyn Bailey, Guy Julier, Lucy Kimbell University of Brighton and Victoria and Albert Museum October 2014, 84 pages The UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has just published a report exploring social design research in the UK. The report scrutinises the future of […]]]>

Social Design Futures: HEI Research and the AHRC
By Armstrong, Leah, Jocelyn Bailey, Guy Julier, Lucy Kimbell
University of Brighton and Victoria and Albert Museum
October 2014, 84 pages

The report scrutinises the future of social design research at a time when its relevance is growing rapidly as a result of policy shifts towards more open government structures and increased visibility of strategic design thinking and social innovation, and a wider context of economic austerity and digital revolution.

Current and ongoing interest in social design means the field is at a critical point. This ‘social design moment’ presents opportunities for researchers in design and related areas. However, in order to take full advantage of these opportunities, and to support the development of social design research, some challenges must be addressed.

Existing healthcare systems can make the end-of-life experience more frustrating and undignified. The Lien Foundation and ACM Foundation (Singapore) in collaboration with fuelfor design consultants have published an experience design handbook, pdf). Its aim is to raise the universal standard of hospices, the service providers of end-of-life care.

Hospices suffer a poor image. They deserve to be better understood by society, to become a welcomed part of lifelong care services. An ageing population affects not only Singapore but is a worldwide phenomenon, so designing better palliative (non-curative) care services is of great relevance globally.

The team is proposing seven universal experience design concepts. They envisage a new service that is community-integrated, personalised in care and that helps all stakeholders navigate the end-of-life journey with greater confidence. The ideas range across diverse levels of opportunity; ideas like a Goodbye Garden can add dignity to the way that the deceased leaves the hospice. While others like the toolset for baking Thank you Cookies encourages patients to express their feelings in memorable ways. Besides many thought-provoking ideas, the handbook offers a set of 24 Experience Design Principles for designers involved in future hospice projects.

The researchers believe that the Hospitable Hospice handbook can create more conversations about death and dying – in the same way we can speak about marriage and birth – free from stigma, fear and taboo.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/hospitable-hospice-redesigning-care-for-tomorrow/feed/0Push, pull or nudgehttp://www.experientia.com/blog/push-pull-or-nudge/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/push-pull-or-nudge/#commentsThu, 16 Oct 2014 18:56:10 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17255“Push, pull or nudge” is the title of a 2.5 hour workshop (video here) at the 5th European Conference on Public Communication held today in Brussels. The workshop explored the potential of concepts such as design thinking, choice architecture and nudging in public affairs communication, and featured: Sean Larkins, Deputy Director and Head of Government […]]]>

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/push-pull-or-nudge/feed/0New ebook details Seoul’s Sharing City projecthttp://www.experientia.com/blog/new-ebook-details-seouls-sharing-city-project/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/new-ebook-details-seouls-sharing-city-project/#commentsThu, 09 Oct 2014 06:03:38 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17222With its official, city-wide commitment to the sharing economy, Seoul’s metropolitan government has emerged as a leader in the global sharing movement. Recently, Creative Commons Korea released an ebook detailing many of the Sharing City, Seoul projects, at both the community- and municipal-level, that form this new sharing mega-city. As the Sharing City, Seoul ebook […]]]>

With its official, city-wide commitment to the sharing economy, Seoul’s metropolitan government has emerged as a leader in the global sharing movement. Recently, Creative Commons Korea released an ebook detailing many of the Sharing City, Seoul projects, at both the community- and municipal-level, that form this new sharing mega-city.

As the Sharing City, Seoul ebook introduction notes, while Seoul is spearheading a sharing revolution, sharing is not new to its residents. Seoul is a city with a rich cultural heritage of sharing, including labor exchanges called “poomasi” and farmers’ coops called “dure.” Today, with 10 million residents—the majority of them possessing smartphones—and a government committed to creating a sharing culture, Seoul is well-positioned to bring mass sharing to one of the densest cities in the world.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/new-ebook-details-seouls-sharing-city-project/feed/0Why government websites are terrible and how to fix themhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/why-government-websites-are-terrible-and-how-to-fix-them/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/why-government-websites-are-terrible-and-how-to-fix-them/#commentsSun, 05 Oct 2014 10:03:05 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17211By exposing how confusing food stamp applications and other government online services can be, Citizen Onboard hopes to make them better. Anna North reports in the New York Times Op-Talk blog. “One simple way to make government websites better, [Alan] Williams [of the nonprofit Code for America that started Citizen Onboard] told Op-Talk, is clearer […]]]>

By exposing how confusing food stamp applications and other government online services can be, Citizen Onboard hopes to make them better. Anna North reports in the New York Times Op-Talk blog.

“One simple way to make government websites better, [Alan] Williams [of the nonprofit Code for America that started Citizen Onboard] told Op-Talk, is clearer copywriting: “People are used to being spoken to in plain language, and if we can speak that language, then we can make pretty complex tasks like applying for food stamps a lot simpler.”

The Op-Ed piece cites a 2013 New York Times Op-Ed, in which Clay Johnson and Harper Reed argue that shoddy websites are a result of “the way the government buys things.”

“The government has to follow a code called the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which is more than 1,800 pages of legalese that all but ensure that the companies that win government contracts, like the ones put out to build HealthCare.gov, are those that can navigate the regulations best, but not necessarily do the best job.”

Mr. Williams agrees, writes North:

“The way the government has been legally able to buy technology in this country has forced them to scope out the entire technical and feature requirements of a service at the outset and then buy those services for a very large sum of money. A better approach is one that eschews declaring that you know everything that’s needed out front, and instead focuses on user-centered design and user research and iterative development, and building something that works over time by observing how people interact with the software.” [My emphasis]

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/why-government-websites-are-terrible-and-how-to-fix-them/feed/0An interview with Dirk Knemeyer on UX and reinventing democracyhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/an-interview-with-dirk-knemeyer-on-ux-and-reinventing-democracy/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/an-interview-with-dirk-knemeyer-on-ux-and-reinventing-democracy/#commentsMon, 29 Sep 2014 17:29:52 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17186Dirk Knemeyer is a UX thought leader, an entrepreneur, a game designer, and a former UXmatters columnist. Recently, Pabini Gabriel-Petit had the opportunity to interview Dirk about his experiences as a UX professional and entrepreneur, as well as his reflections on the state of democracy in the United States and how we can use design […]]]>

Dirk Knemeyer is a UX thought leader, an entrepreneur, a game designer, and a former UXmatters columnist. Recently, Pabini Gabriel-Petit had the opportunity to interview Dirk about his experiences as a UX professional and entrepreneur, as well as his reflections on the state of democracy in the United States and how we can use design thinking to imagine a more participatory form of democratic government.

Recently, Dirk published “Redesign Democracy: A Better Solution for the Digital Era,” on the Involution Studios Web site. This thought piece, which considers how we might reconceptualize the democratic process in the United States, provided the focus for the remainder of our discussion. – See more at: http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2014/09/user-experience-entrepreneurship-and-redesigning-democracy-an-interview-with-dirk-knemeyer.php#sthash.UZVyhVRo.dpuf

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/an-interview-with-dirk-knemeyer-on-ux-and-reinventing-democracy/feed/0Nudging and behavioral regulation gaining interest across Europehttp://www.experientia.com/blog/nudging-and-behavioral-regulation-gaining-interest-across-europe/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/nudging-and-behavioral-regulation-gaining-interest-across-europe/#commentsSun, 07 Sep 2014 10:20:17 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17145Behavioral regulation is afoot in Europe and is drawing the interest of a growing number of OECD countries. Professor Alberto Alemanno has just posted a brief overview of what happened over the last few months: In late June, TEN – The European Nudge Network was launched with the aim to gather and exchange good practices […]]]>

Behavioral regulation is afoot in Europe and is drawing the interest of a growing number of OECD countries. Professor Alberto Alemanno has just posted a brief overview of what happened over the last few months:

In late June, TEN – The European Nudge Network was launched with the aim to gather and exchange good practices among researchers, practitioners, stakeholders and policy-makers interested in Nudge throughout the European Union and beyond.

The European Union is in the process to set up its ‘foresight team’, a unit to be located within the EU Commission Joint Research Center under the lead of the best policy thinkers inside the administration. The unit’s reason d’être is to centralize the efforts currently undertaken by some Directorates General of the EU Commission, such as DG Consumer Protection and Health (SANCO), to integrate behavioral insights into EU policymaking.

Also the OECD is set to include ‘behavioral economics’ in its 2015 Regulatory Policy Outlook.

Alemanno goes on to cite examples from individual countries such as Germany, France, Italy and Canada.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/nudging-and-behavioral-regulation-gaining-interest-across-europe/feed/0How EU leaders can listen to the views of their citizens expressed on Twitterhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/how-eu-leaders-can-listen-to-the-views-of-their-citizens-expressed-on-twitter/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/how-eu-leaders-can-listen-to-the-views-of-their-citizens-expressed-on-twitter/#commentsThu, 28 Aug 2014 10:00:50 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17101Vox Digitas By Jamie Bartlett, Carl Miller, David Weir, Jeremy Reffin, Simon Wibberley Report, 24 August 2014 ISBN 978-1-909037-63-2 Free download Over the last decade European citizens have gained a digital voice. Close to 350 million people in Europe currently use social networking sites, with more of us signing into a social media platform at […]]]>

Over the last decade European citizens have gained a digital voice. Close to 350 million people in Europe currently use social networking sites, with more of us signing into a social media platform at least once a day than voted in the last European elections. EU citizens have transferred many aspects of their lives onto these social media platforms, including politics and activism. Taken together, social media represent a new digital commons where people join their social and political lives to those around them.

This paper examines the potential of listening to these digital voices on Twitter, and the consequences for how EU leaders apprehend, respond to and thereby represent their citizens. It looks at how European citizens use Twitter to discuss issues related to the EU and how their digital attitudes and views evolve in response to political and economic crises. It also addresses the many formidable challenges that this new method faces: how far it can be trusted, when it can be used, the value such use could bring and how its use can be publicly acceptable and ethical.

We have never before had access to the millions of voices that together form society’s constant political debate, nor the possibility of understanding them. This report demonstrates how capturing and understanding these citizen voices potentially offers a new way of listening to people, a transformative opportunity to understand what they think, and a crucial opportunity to close the democratic deficit.

The report is the result of a project conducted by The Centre for the Analysis of Social Media, a collaboration between Demos and the Text Analytics Group at the University of Sussex, that produces new political, social and policy insight and understanding through social media research.

The methodological reflections in the executive summary are a worthwhile read for any qualitative researcher, including those working in the corporate realm.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/how-eu-leaders-can-listen-to-the-views-of-their-citizens-expressed-on-twitter/feed/0E-Government for the post-2015 era: the usage perspectivehttp://www.experientia.com/blog/e-government-for-the-post-2015-era-the-usage-perspective/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/e-government-for-the-post-2015-era-the-usage-perspective/#commentsThu, 21 Aug 2014 15:55:54 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17094E-Government for the post-2015 era: the usage perspective is the title of the 7th chapter of the recent report “United Nations E-Government Survey 2014 – E-Government for the Future We Want“. The chapter outlines the current situation of e-government usage, particularly the efforts made by the 193 United Nations Member States. It examines various e-government […]]]>

The chapter outlines the current situation of e-government usage, particularly the efforts made by the 193 United Nations Member States. It examines various e-government service channels (including mobile and social media), service channel mix and management in a multichannel world, exploring effective channel management strategies (with good opportunities) to increase e-service uptake. The chapter also looks at selected issues related to e-government service usage in several critical areas which can generate high returns for sustainable development, along with good practices; and provides concluding observations, with some policy suggestions on increasing e-service uptake.

The report was completed in January 2014 and launched in June 2014.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/e-government-for-the-post-2015-era-the-usage-perspective/feed/0Leveraging ethnography to improve food safetyhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/leveraging-ethnography-to-improve-food-safety/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/leveraging-ethnography-to-improve-food-safety/#commentsSat, 16 Aug 2014 09:50:52 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17079Carolyn Rose explains how ethnography can be used to improve food safety: If done correctly, ethnography leads to a holistic and unbiased understanding of current practices and the motivations that drive them. Looking specifically to learn the existing challenges, workarounds, deviations and drivers within an interaction, task or activity, we are able to identify opportunities […]]]>

If done correctly, ethnography leads to a holistic and unbiased understanding of current practices and the motivations that drive them. Looking specifically to learn the existing challenges, workarounds, deviations and drivers within an interaction, task or activity, we are able to identify opportunities for process-based improvements. Such opportunities can ultimately take many forms, including new work flows, tools and/or techniques. For example, identifying specific areas of noncompliance might lead to new safety training protocols, while identifying comparatively labor-intensive or time-consuming tasks might lead to the implementation of alternative technologies/automation aimed to mitigate bottlenecks.

As such, ethnography can be a critical first step in evolving food safety practices. With a sound understanding of current practices and the real needs and challenges therein, we can make informed and targeted process improvements aimed to optimize efficiency, quality, ease of use, consistency and safety.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/leveraging-ethnography-to-improve-food-safety/feed/0White House launches UX-focused Digital Service teamhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/white-house-launches-ux-focused-digital-service-team/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/white-house-launches-ux-focused-digital-service-team/#commentsTue, 12 Aug 2014 09:49:29 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17069Yesterday, the White House formally launched the U.S. Digital Service. “The Digital Service will be a small team made up of our country’s brightest digital talent that will work with agencies to remove barriers to exceptional service delivery and help remake the digital experience that people and businesses have with their government.” The Administration also […]]]>

Yesterday, the White House formally launched the U.S. Digital Service.

“The Digital Service will be a small team made up of our country’s brightest digital talent that will work with agencies to remove barriers to exceptional service delivery and help remake the digital experience that people and businesses have with their government.”

The Administration also released the initial version of “a Digital Services Playbook that lays out best practices for building effective digital services like web and mobile applications and will serve as a guide for agencies across government. To increase the success of government digital service projects, this playbook outlines 13 key “plays” drawn from private and public-sector best practices that, if followed together, will help federal agencies deliver services that work well for users and require less time and money to develop and operate.”

It is nice to see that the first item in the Digital Services Playbook — Understand what people need — is identical to the first item in the Design Principles heralded by their British counterpart, gov.uk – start with needs.

So after Gov.uk, we now have the U.S. Digital Service, both with a major emphasis on user experience and user research. Which country will follow next?

The premise of this article is that an understanding of psychology and other social science disciplines can inform the effectiveness of the economic tools traditionally deployed in carrying out the functions of government, which include remedying market failures, redistributing income, and collecting tax revenue. An understanding of psychology can also lead to the development of different policy tools that better motivate desired behavior change or that are more cost-effective than traditional policy tools. The article outlines a framework for thinking about the psychology of behavior change in the context of market failures. It then describes the research on the effects of a variety of interventions rooted in an understanding of psychology that have policy-relevant applications. The article concludes by discussing how an understanding of psychology can also inform the use and design of traditional policy tools for behavior change, such as financial incentives.

Brigitte Madrian is the Aetna Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management at the Harvard Kennedy School.

[HT Emile Hooge]

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/applying-insights-from-behavioral-economics-to-policy-design/feed/0Call to bring refugee-led innovation into humanitarian workhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/call-to-bring-refugee-led-innovation-into-humanitarian-work/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/call-to-bring-refugee-led-innovation-into-humanitarian-work/#commentsTue, 22 Jul 2014 10:37:29 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=17013The humanitarian sector must lift barriers to user-led innovation by refugee communities if it is to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world, says a new report, Humanitarian Innovation: The State of the Art, published by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and presented at the Humanitarian Innovation Conference at the […]]]>

The trajectory of humanitarian assistance is unsustainable — with the cost trebling and the number of people requiring help doubling over the past ten years — and humanitarian tools and services are often ill-suited to modern emergencies, says the report.

“The risk-averse sector needs to embrace innovation, private sector involvement and bottom-up solutions to keep up with modern challenges”.

The current debate focuses on improving the tools and practices of international humanitarian actors and has overlooked the “talents, skills and aspirations of crisis-affected people themselves”, who remain a “largely untapped source of sustainable and creative solutions”.

An alternative to these short-term, project-based solutions by external actors is user-centred design that embraces indigenous innovation and participatory methods, it says.

This, it adds, involves recognising and understanding innovation within communities and putting them at the heart of the humanitarian innovation process.

The report calls for early consultation on the design of solutions to make sure they fit with cultural practices, and for more investment in “innovation spaces and opportunities that mentor, accelerate, and incubate the initiative of affected populations and local organisations”.

It also says that international organisations should ensure users drive the process of defining priority areas for innovation, testing out products and processes to meet those needs, and providing feedback during implementation and scaling.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/call-to-bring-refugee-led-innovation-into-humanitarian-work/feed/0Sharing City Seoul: a model for the worldhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/sharing-city-seoul-a-model-for-the-world/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/sharing-city-seoul-a-model-for-the-world/#commentsSat, 07 Jun 2014 16:02:51 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16966The Seoul city government has officially embraced the sharing economy by designating Seoul a Sharing City and is working in partnership with NGOs and private companies to make sharing an integral part of Seoul’s economy. The city is now creating an official sharing ecosystem and, led by the Seoul Innovation Bureau within the Seoul Metropolitan […]]]>

The city is now creating an official sharing ecosystem and, led by the Seoul Innovation Bureau within the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG), they are seeing promising early results.

Using its IT and civic infrastructure, in addition to strong public-private partnerships, the Sharing City project is working to connect people to sharing services and each other, recover a sense of trust and community, reduce waste and over-consumption, and activate the local economy.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/sharing-city-seoul-a-model-for-the-world/feed/0UK Government told to put people at centre of ‘digital revolution’http://www.experientia.com/blog/uk-government-told-to-put-people-at-centre-of-digital-revolution/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/uk-government-told-to-put-people-at-centre-of-digital-revolution/#commentsSat, 31 May 2014 09:37:27 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16939Digital services in the public sector must have user-centred design as a ‘primary focus’ if people are to benefit from IT growth, the report “Designing the Digital Economy” claims. The report, commissioned by the British Parliament’s Design and Innovation Group, describes designers as “critical agents able to mediate between people, places and technology”. “They have […]]]>

*Large infrastructure projects such as HS2 should appoint a Chief User Officer to ensure the effective, relevant and transparent use of big data.

*The design sector should be encouraged to partner technologists and regional development mechanisms to develop Digital Design Clusters which work together to develop networks of design-led digital activities.

*Children, further education students and undergraduates should be taught using up-to-date design software or open source platforms.

*Whilst the UK will be the first country in the world to teach children how to code as part of the curriculum (from 2015), there are still measures that can be taken to close the skills gap now.

*Expand and develop the Research Councils UK funding work on linking design to the digital economy.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/uk-government-told-to-put-people-at-centre-of-digital-revolution/feed/0Open government requires having the end user in mindhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/open-government-requires-having-the-end-user-in-mind/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/open-government-requires-having-the-end-user-in-mind/#commentsWed, 28 May 2014 08:40:11 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16924Simply making data available online isn’t enough – it needs to be created with the end user in mind, writes Jed Miller in The Guardian. “But online or off, the measure of a tool’s value is it usefulness to the people it is meant to reach. Whether your particular jargon calls them users, readers, audiences, […]]]>

“But online or off, the measure of a tool’s value is it usefulness to the people it is meant to reach. Whether your particular jargon calls them users, readers, audiences, customers or beneficiaries, their needs must be the blueprint of your strategy.”

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/open-government-requires-having-the-end-user-in-mind/feed/0How collaborating with patients improves hospital carehttp://www.experientia.com/blog/how-collaborating-with-patients-improves-hospital-care/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/how-collaborating-with-patients-improves-hospital-care/#commentsThu, 06 Mar 2014 14:08:37 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16761The Guardian reports on how a new UK project where patients and NHS staff work together to improve services shows that even small changes can have a big impact on the quality of care. The project, with an impossibly long name, has been designed by academics from Oxford university’s health experience research group and studies […]]]>

The Guardian reports on how a new UK project where patients and NHS staff work together to improve services shows that even small changes can have a big impact on the quality of care.

The project, with an impossibly long name, has been designed by academics from Oxford university’s health experience research group and studies patients’ experience of illness. Working with professor Glenn Robert at King’s College London, who had developed a new approach to help the NHS make better use of patient feedback, the Oxford academics compiled short videos about patients’ experiences of intensive care and lung cancer services.

They formed the basis for small group discussions between medical staff, managers, patients and relatives who identified priorities for change, many of which were then implemented.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/how-collaborating-with-patients-improves-hospital-care/feed/0The Museum of Future Government Serviceshttp://www.experientia.com/blog/the-museum-of-future-government-services/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/the-museum-of-future-government-services/#commentsWed, 12 Feb 2014 12:07:18 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16661The Museum of Future Government Services, which in Dubai on the 10th of February at the UAE Government Summit, is an interactive design futures exhibition. The Museum explores the future of travel, healthcare, education and urban services. It brings together over 80 designers, technologists and futurists from nearly 20 countries to imagine how these services […]]]>

The Museum explores the future of travel, healthcare, education and urban services. It brings together over 80 designers, technologists and futurists from nearly 20 countries to imagine how these services could be changed for the better in the coming years.

“The first of its kind, the Museum goes far beyond written reports or special effects. It highlights real prototypes of prospective services that could be developed by the governments of tomorrow.

This approach allows visitors to interact with, experience, and enjoy future trends in a way never before possible.

The Museum of Future Government Services paints a bold and hopeful vision of what the future could be. It shows how businesses, governments, and citizenry could work together to create a world-class experience of government services. It is just one possibility among many, illustrating the many challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

The future is uncertain, but the work of the Museum suggests that bold vision, creative experiments and committed partnerships can build a better world.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/the-museum-of-future-government-services/feed/0Data and design in innovative citizen experienceshttp://www.experientia.com/blog/data-and-design-in-innovative-citizen-experiences/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/data-and-design-in-innovative-citizen-experiences/#commentsWed, 12 Feb 2014 11:45:32 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16657The past decade has brought enormous and growing benefits to ordinary citizens through applications built on public data.

Any release of data offers advantages to experts, such as developers and journalists, but there is a crucial common factor in the most successful open data applications for non-experts: excellent design, writes Cyd Harrell, UX Evangelist at Code for America.

In fact, open data and citizen-centered design are natural partners, especially as the government 2.0 movement turns to improving service delivery and government interaction in tandem with transparency.

It’s nearly impossible to design innovative citizen experiences without data, but that data will not reach its full potential without careful choices about how to aggregate, present, and enable interaction with it.

“Design is a critical practice for enabling open data to reach its full transformative potential. Without citizens being able to interact with government data directly, we are unlikely to trigger a revolution in how services are provided. We all know how much we need that revolution, for reasons of cost, fairness, and human dignity.

Methods drawn from the user experience field are the easiest way to translate open data into a format that’s usable and accessible for the average (or non-average) citizen. The most successful and broadly used open data projects have always relied on design, whether or not people formally trained in design were part of the teams. Our task now is to bring our best design ideas into our shared movement and take advantage of everything the discipline has to offer. With design, we can give the public back its data in real use, as well as in name.”

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/data-and-design-in-innovative-citizen-experiences/feed/0Dan Hill: Can public enterprises adopt the popular dynamics of private enterprises?http://www.experientia.com/blog/dan-hill-can-public-enterprises-adopt-the-popular-dynamics-of-private-enterprises/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/dan-hill-can-public-enterprises-adopt-the-popular-dynamics-of-private-enterprises/#commentsTue, 17 Dec 2013 15:19:56 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16473In his latest Dezeen column, Dan Hill examines what services like the Uber taxi app mean for cities and asks whether the designers of public services can learn something from them. “So this [i.e. Uber], as with Amazon (and Starbucks, J Crew and the rest) is another cultural blitzkrieg, obliterating difference and leaving high-quality homogeneity […]]]>

In his latest Dezeen column, Dan Hill examines what services like the Uber taxi app mean for cities and asks whether the designers of public services can learn something from them.

“So this [i.e. Uber], as with Amazon (and Starbucks, J Crew and the rest) is another cultural blitzkrieg, obliterating difference and leaving high-quality homogeneity in its wake. With clothes and coffee it’s a shame, but not that big a deal. However, when it ploughs into a core urban service like mobility I have, well, a few issues.

Although taxis are a form of privatised transport, they remain part of the city’s civic infrastructure, part of their character. As architect and teacher Robin Boyd wrote, “taxi-men teach the visitor a lot about their towns, intentionally and unintentionally.” Boyd was able to to demarcate Sydney culture from Adelaide culture based on whether the cabbie opens the door for you. I recall scribbling a drawing of a Stephen Holl building I wanted to visit in Beijing, as my only way of communicating my desired destination to the taxi driver. Uber makes transactions easier, but what we gain from a seamless UI, and the convenience of the global currency of apps, we lose from the possibility of understanding a place through a slightly bumpier “seamful” experience.”

In short, Hill is concerned:

“The broader issue is replacement of public services with private services. […] “Who’s to say that similarly shiny networked services won’t also begin to offer privatised coordination of your waste collection, energy and water provision and so on, to match the trends towards private education, private healthcare and private mail delivery to gated communities?”

So what could public services and public authorities do?

“It may mean that public enterprise has to adopt the popular dynamics, patterns and systems of our age, yet bent into shape for public good. This seems possible, as the GOV.UK project from the UK’s Government Digital Service illustrates. Perhaps by marrying such supremely good interactive work with the ethos and long-term viability of the public sector, services like Uber will be left to play happily in the aspirant niches while high-quality networked public services will be available for all. It is just as viable for public transport systems to apply network logic as it is for Uber to do so, if not easier, as the public sector gets to shape the policy and regulatory environments, as well as the delivery.”

So. he ends, “the design question posed by Uber is: can public enterprises adopt the popular dynamics of private enterprises without also absorbing their underlying ideologies?”

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/dan-hill-can-public-enterprises-adopt-the-popular-dynamics-of-private-enterprises/feed/0Britain’s Ministry of Nudgeshttp://www.experientia.com/blog/britains-ministry-of-nudges/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/britains-ministry-of-nudges/#commentsSun, 08 Dec 2013 18:49:33 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16453The title of this New York Times article sounds like a Monty Python sketch (intentionally, I guess). But the article is luckily quite a lot more serious, exploring how the British government – inspired by American behavioral economics – is finding new ways to gently prod people to pay taxes, find jobs and insulate their […]]]>

The title of this New York Times article sounds like a Monty Python sketch (intentionally, I guess). But the article is luckily quite a lot more serious, exploring how the British government – inspired by American behavioral economics – is finding new ways to gently prod people to pay taxes, find jobs and insulate their homes:

“A small band of psychologists and economists is quietly working to transform the nation’s policy making. Inspired by behavioral science, the group fans out across the country to job centers, schools and local government offices and tweaks bureaucratic processes to better suit human nature. The goal is to see if small interventions that don’t cost much can change behavior in large ways that serve both individuals and society.

It is an American idea, refined in American universities and popularized in 2008 with the best seller “Nudge,” by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein. Professor Thaler, a contributor to the Economic View column in Sunday Business, is an economist at the University of Chicago, and Mr. Sunstein was a senior regulatory official in the Obama administration, where he applied behavioral findings to a range of regulatory policies, but didn’t have the mandate or resources to run experiments.

But it is in Britain that such experiments have taken root. Prime Minister David Cameron has embraced the idea of testing the power of behavioral change to devise effective policies, seeing it not just as a way to help people make better decisions, but also to help government do more for less.”

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/britains-ministry-of-nudges/feed/0New UK Lab to transform healthcare using designhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/new-uk-lab-to-transform-healthcare-using-design/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/new-uk-lab-to-transform-healthcare-using-design/#commentsFri, 06 Dec 2013 11:59:19 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16442A new centre will bring the principles of design into the heart of a leading hospital to create a global research hub for “frugal innovation and high-impact, low-cost design”, writes The Times Higher Education. Royal College of Art (press release) and the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London (press release), have together […]]]>

A new centre will bring the principles of design into the heart of a leading hospital to create a global research hub for “frugal innovation and high-impact, low-cost design”, writes The Times Higher Education.

Royal College of Art (press release) and the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London (press release), have together launched the Helix Centre for Design and Innovation in Healthcare, Europe’s first dedicated centre for healthcare design and innovation..

“Innovation in healthcare can come at a high price. In the developed world it is often characterised by costly and high tech initiatives, where ideas can take a decade to deliver from concept into a clinician’s hands. HELIX will use design to solve everyday problems in healthcare, focusing on low cost solutions which can be adopted more quickly by health systems. Everything the centre does will be firmly rooted in patient care – based out of St Mary’s Hospital its sole focus will be on design that directly improves the care that patients receive

medical equipmentThe Centre will bring together clinicians, academics, technologists and venture capitalist expertise with NHS staff to develop innovations with global application. Recognising that some of the promising technologies in healthcare are developing outside the UK, HELIX will work collaboratively with international academic and commercial partners such as Stanford University, Singapore University of Technology and Design the IDEO and TATA in India to develop ideas and create commercial opportunities for our best designs.

The Centre will use its research strengths and diverse networks to explore how design in health care can enhance patient care including meeting the needs of an ageing population, improve clinical outcomes and prevent or mitigate against disease.”

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/new-uk-lab-to-transform-healthcare-using-design/feed/0UK Cabinet Office policy lab aims to create designer public serviceshttp://www.experientia.com/blog/uk-cabinet-office-policy-lab-aims-to-create-designer-public-services/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/uk-cabinet-office-policy-lab-aims-to-create-designer-public-services/#commentsFri, 06 Dec 2013 11:47:31 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16437Public service design is about to hit the mainstream. In December the Cabinet Office will launch a new policy lab tasked with using design to “re-invigorate policymaking in the UK civil service”, reports The Guardian. The new lab to be launched in December will work with departments on their toughest problems, drawing on design methods […]]]>

Public service design is about to hit the mainstream. In December the Cabinet Office will launch a new policy lab tasked with using design to “re-invigorate policymaking in the UK civil service”, reports The Guardian.

The new lab to be launched in December will work with departments on their toughest problems, drawing on design methods such as ethnography to shed new light on what services people really need, and what a better solution might look like.

“Most design in the public sector is focused on transactions with government, such as applying for a passport. Much less has been done on design for improving human services such as drug rehabilitation. Even where design is deployed, it is usually only used to reshape a particular service not redesign the system surrounding it. So although some have designed to cut reoffending, designers have not yet had the chance to explore why offending is happening in the first place.

Moreover, design needs to learn from other public service fields, such as behavioural economics and social finance. The public service design revolution is just beginning.”

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/uk-cabinet-office-policy-lab-aims-to-create-designer-public-services/feed/0An ethnographic study of UK policy makinghttp://www.experientia.com/blog/an-ethnographic-study-of-uk-policy-making/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/an-ethnographic-study-of-uk-policy-making/#commentsSun, 24 Nov 2013 09:56:45 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16393Professor Alex Stevens of the University of Kent, did quite an unusual ethnographic study – focused on understanding how UK civil servants use evidence in policy making, and in the process comes to some quite political conclusions: “Based on participant observation in a team of British policy-making civil servants carried out in 2009, this article […]]]>

“Based on participant observation in a team of British policy-making civil servants carried out in 2009, this article examines the use that is made of evidence in making policy. It shows that these civil servants displayed a high level of commitment to the use of evidence. However, their use of evidence was hampered by the huge volume of various kinds of evidence and by the unsuitability of much academic research in answering policy questions. Faced with this deluge of inconclusive information, they used evidence to create persuasive policy stories. These stories were useful both in making acceptable policies and in advancing careers. They often involved the excision of methodological uncertainty and the use of ‘killer charts’ to boost the persuasiveness of the narrative. In telling these stories, social inequality was ‘silently silenced’ in favour of promoting policies which were ‘totemically’ tough. The article concludes that this selective, narrative use of evidence is ideological in that it supports systematically asymmetrical relations of power.”
[Abstract]

“How do civil servants use evidence in their everyday work as they create policies? That’s what I set out to understand when I was seconded to a Whitehall department for six months. My findings, I should warn, were a bit dispiriting. There is a systematic bias in both the kind and content of evidence that is used. I observed policy-making being distorted by the filtering of evidence to fit the particular goals of the powerful. The result? Policy-making that may be supported in public by evidence but certainly has not been determined by it. […]

Social scientists – perhaps naively – hope that increasing the role of evidence in policy will support democracy because evidence is perceived as being politically neutral. But the people who are making the choices about what evidence will be translated into policy come from the groups in society that already have unequal access to resources, money and power. So the process I have observed of ‘narrative filtering’ of the evidence tends to preserve existing inequalities and power structures rather than challenging them.”

He presented his research at a special Seminar at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine on Tuesday, 19th Nov 2013.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/an-ethnographic-study-of-uk-policy-making/feed/0Bringing sharing to Koreahttp://www.experientia.com/blog/bringing-sharing-to-korea/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/bringing-sharing-to-korea/#commentsTue, 19 Nov 2013 09:49:01 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16355Richard Heinberg, author of The End of Growth, gave the keynote address at the ‘Seoul Youth Hub Conference 2013, Reshaping the Way We Live’, held in Seoul, Korea from 6 to 8 November 2013. The conference was co-hosted with 8 youth-led organizations working for transforming our lives into more sustainable way in various sectors. The […]]]>

The conference was co-hosted with 8 youth-led organizations working for transforming our lives into more sustainable way in various sectors.

The Seoul Youth Hub is a project of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and its mandate is to help young people “design a future society” by providing a place where they can share and resolve their problems, experiment with a sharing economy, and “discuss specific policies regarding various agendas such as work-labor, housing, life safety net, business creation, youth politics,” and more. The Hub is also intended as a model and a networking center for similar projects throughout Asia.

“On the evening of the first day of the conference I met Mayor Park at his offices in City Hall, a twisty new steel-and-glass structure whose ground floor is devoted to citizen-led social innovation projects.

Copies of The End of Growth were on the mayor’s meeting room table. Using an interpreter, we got right to it: He had clearly read the book and asked intelligent questions about it. What would I recommend that he and the City of Seoul do to prepare for the end of economic growth? It was a stunning question, given the circumstances, and he appeared eager to consider whatever suggestions I might offer. I started rattling off a laundry list of ideas — supporting farmers’ markets, community gardens, and other staples of a local food system; discouraging cars while encouraging bicycling and public transport; raising energy building standards to the Passive House level; staging more cultural events to increase the happiness quotient among citizens. When I finished, he recited examples of how he and the city have already begun doing nearly every one of these things. He was saying, in effect, “Check, check, check. Come on, what else have you got? Please tell me, and I’ll see if we can do it!” I suggested he find a way for the city to help bring Transition to Seoul. (There are currently two official Transition Initiatives in Japan, none in Korea.) He promised to do just that.”

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/bringing-sharing-to-korea/feed/0[Book] Connect: Design for an Empathic Societyhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/book-connect-design-for-an-empathic-society/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/book-connect-design-for-an-empathic-society/#commentsSun, 10 Nov 2013 13:16:52 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16341Connect: Design for an Empathic Society by Sabine Wildevuur, Dick van Dijk, Thomas Hammer-Jakobson, Mie Bjerre, Anne Äyväri, and Jesper Lund BIS Publishers, 2014 216 pages [Amazon link] Abstract The prospects are clear: we will probably live longer. The number of people aged 65 and up will increase enormously over the next few decades. Society […]]]>

The prospects are clear: we will probably live longer. The number of people aged 65 and up will increase enormously over the next few decades. Society will change as a result, but in what manner?

Europe – and, in fact, probably the world – faces the challenge of preventing loneliness and isolation amongst a growing group of senior people. The oldest part of the population is at particular risk of becoming isolated and lonely as they grow older and their work-related networks erode. While working in the field of technology and aging, the authors discovered that there is a whole new field to be explored, namely the phenomenon of connectedness.

This book is written by a group of authors with very different backgrounds, varying from business, ICT, marketing, anthropology, medicine, design and computer interaction. They all felt the urge to explore this field of connectedness and they discovered new opportunities for the emerging market of ‘aging-driven design’.

Design for connectedness is about support for behavioral change that increases connectedness in day-to-day routines. It’s not about encouraging a completely novel set of behaviors. Rather, it is about supporting human connections, especially during major transitions in life such as retirement.

Authors

Sabine Wildevuur works as Head of Waag Society‘s Creative Care Lab. She has an academic background in Medicine and Mass Communication and works as a programme manager, researcher and writer. She is passionate about innovation in the interdisciplinary field of healthcare, design, the arts, new media and ICT.

Dick van Dijk is Creative Director at Waag Society. He is interested in the crossover between virtual and physical interactions, in creating a narrative space, a place for imagination. Dick has a background in Business Economics and History of Art and is currently extending his creative skills in the context of an Arts Academy.

Thomas Hammer-Jakobson is Chairman of Copenhagen Living Lab, and has previously held top-level positions in the Danish Broadcasting Corporation for more than 10 years. Thomas is a specialist in welfare innovation. As such he has initiated and led many national and international projects in the field of elderly care and independent living.

Mie Bjerre is a partner at Copenhagen LivingLab, which assists public and private organisations in realising innovation and business potential. Mie has a background in European ethnology, realising while travelling that “understanding cultures, people and why people are doing what they’re doing holds great value when innovating”

Anne Äyväri, D.Sc. (Econ.), currently works as a Principal Lecturer at Laurea University of Applied Sciences, Finland. Her main responsibilities include managing RDI projects aiming at developing services and procedures in the social and health care sector. Her research interests include small firm networks, networking abilities, and learning in networks.

Jesper Lund has worked with digital innovation and user-centric design since 2004. He is currently working as a teacher and researcher at Halmstad University in Sweden, where he has been involved as a researcher in several R&D projects within the health technology field.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/book-connect-design-for-an-empathic-society/feed/0[Book] Changing Behaviours: On the Rise of the Psychological Statehttp://www.experientia.com/blog/book-changing-behaviours-on-the-rise-of-the-psychological-state/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/book-changing-behaviours-on-the-rise-of-the-psychological-state/#commentsSun, 03 Nov 2013 12:11:44 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16267Changing Behaviours: On the Rise of the Psychological State by Rhys Jones, Jessica Pykett and Mark Whitehead Edward Elgar Publishers 2013, 240 pages [Amazon link] Abstract Changing Behaviours charts the emergence of the behaviour change agenda in UK based public policy making since the late 1990s. By tracing the influence of the behavioural sciences on […]]]>

AbstractChanging Behaviours charts the emergence of the behaviour change agenda in UK based public policy making since the late 1990s.
By tracing the influence of the behavioural sciences on Whitehall policy makers, the authors explore a new psychological orthodoxy in the practices of governing. Drawing on original empirical material, chapters examine the impact of behaviour change policies in the fields of health, personal finance and the environment. This topical and insightful book analyses how the nature of the human subject itself is re-imagined through behaviour change, and develops an analytical framework for evaluating the ethics, efficacy and potential empowerment of behaviour change.
This unique book will be of interest to advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and academics in a range of different disciplines. In particular, its inter-disciplinary focus on key themes in the social sciences – the state, citizenship, the meaning and scope of government – will make it essential reading for students of political science, sociology, anthropology, geography, policy studies and public administration. In addition, the book’s focus on the practical use of psychological and behavioural insights by politicians and policy makers should lead to considerable interest in psychology and behavioural economics.

The Changing Behaviours project
The authors of the book have now began a Changing Behaviours research project that is exploring emerging strategies for changing human behaviours. The project is being funded as part of the Economic and Social Research Council’s Transforming Social Science programme. The primary aim of thistheproject is to consider the ways in which the emerging insights of behavioural science (in particular behavioural psychology, behavioural economics, microeconomics, cognitive design, and neuroscience) are shaping the design of public policy. This project has been designed to provide the first large-scale, international comparative study of behaviour changing initiatives. In addition to studying the application of behaviour changing policies in different countries throughout the world, the team is also exploring the use of alternative, and perhaps, more neurologically empowering approaches to behaviour change (including mindfulness, connected conversations, and critical behavioural literacy). The project, which started in September 2013, will run until February 2015.

[The book was mentioned in this long piece by Evgeny Morozov for the MIT Technology Review]

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/book-changing-behaviours-on-the-rise-of-the-psychological-state/feed/0Sustainable living and behavioral changehttp://www.experientia.com/blog/sustainable-living-and-behavioral-change/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/sustainable-living-and-behavioral-change/#commentsFri, 25 Oct 2013 08:40:56 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16205Below a selection of pieces from The Guardian’s sustainable living hub: The power of behavioural design: looking beyond nudging Christoph Burmester – 10 September 2013 Beyond nudging lies the world of applied behavioural science or, alternatively, the domain of behavioural design. Combining behavioural science with sustainable design could be a powerful game changer in shifting […]]]>

The power of behavioural design: looking beyond nudging
Christoph Burmester – 10 September 2013
Beyond nudging lies the world of applied behavioural science or, alternatively, the domain of behavioural design. Combining behavioural science with sustainable design could be a powerful game changer in shifting consumer behaviour.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/sustainable-living-and-behavioral-change/feed/0The Newspeak of ‘human-centred’ [Book]http://www.experientia.com/blog/the-newspeak-of-human-centred-book/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/the-newspeak-of-human-centred-book/#commentsMon, 21 Oct 2013 13:00:01 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16172Freedom vs Necessity in International Relations Human-Centred Approaches to Security and Development by David Chandler Zed Books Ltd 224 pages, 2013 [Amazon link] Human-centred understandings of the world have become increasingly dominant over the last two decades. Indeed, it is rare to read any analysis addressing the problems of insecurity, conflict or development which does […]]]>

Human-centred understandings of the world have become increasingly dominant over the last two decades. Indeed, it is rare to read any analysis addressing the problems of insecurity, conflict or development which does not start from the need to empower or capacity-build local agency. In this path-breaking book, Chandler undertakes a radical challenge to such human-centred understandings and suggests that, in articulating problems as a result of human behaviour or decision-making, the problems of the world have become reinterpreted as problems of the human subject itself. Within this framework, the solutions are not seen to lie with structures of economic and social relations, but with the social and cognitive shaping of those who are often seen to be the most marginal and powerless. This shift – from the material problems of the external world to the subjective problems of human thought and action – has gone hand-in-hand with the shift from state-based to society-based understandings of the world. In a provocative analysis, Chandler highlights how human-centred approaches have shrunk rather than enlarged our world and have limited our understanding of transformative possibilities

Review by James Heartfield
In his new book, Freedom vs Necessity, David Chandler, professor of international relations at the University of Westminster, […] lays bare the claims of governments to put people and their decision-making at the centre of policy. What Chandler shows to great effect is that the latest claims of policymakers and theorists to a human-centred approach result in something like its opposite. In a wide range of cases – from the United Nations’ Human Development Report to the Cabinet Office’s prioritisation of the ‘choice environment’ – Chandler explains how ‘human-centred’ policy is, in fact, very far from human-centred. The real aim is for people to align their behaviour and choices to the outcomes chosen by those in power, rather than deciding such outcomes for themselves. ‘Human-centred’ policy turns out to have as much to do with people deciding for themselves as the Ministry of Peace had to do with Peace, or the Ministry of Plenty to do with Plenty in Orwell’s novel.

In a ten part video series, Copenhagenize Design Co explores the top 10 design elements that make Copenhagen a bicycle-friendly city.

The embedded video highlights the big picture. The overall design of the bicycle infrastructure network as a key element in encouraging Citizen Cyclists to choose the bicycle as transport and that keeps them safe.

The other videos:

The Green Wave
The Green Wave is coordinated traffic lights for cyclists. Ride 20 km/h and you won’t put a foot down on your journey into the city centre in the morning and home again in the afternoon.
On Nørrebrogade, the first street to feature the Green Wave, the number of cyclists increased by 15%. Traffic flow in the intense morning bicycle rush hour was improved, providing Citizen Cyclists with a smoother, more efficient journey.
Now, several major arteries leading to the city centre in Copenhagen feature the Green Wave for cyclists.

Intermodality
Combining the bicycle on all forms of transport is vital.

Safety details
It’s in the details when you wish to keep cyclists safe and cycling convenient.

Nørrebrogade
Exploration of one of the greatest urban planning experiments in recent Copenhagen history. The retrofitting of the street Nørrebrogade, complete with Green Wave for cyclists, wide cycle tracks and restricted access for cars.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/the-design-of-copenhagen-as-a-bicycle-friendly-city/feed/0Experientia redesigns online learning and training toolkit for UN affiliatehttp://www.experientia.com/blog/experientia-redesigns-online-learning-and-training-toolkit-for-un-affiliate/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/experientia-redesigns-online-learning-and-training-toolkit-for-un-affiliate/#commentsTue, 15 Oct 2013 13:08:09 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16149This week, the ITC-ILO officially launched the Experientia-designed website Compass: the right direction for learning and training. The site is a toolkit comprising 60 methodologies, with the aim of diffusing learning and training knowledge and tools within the ITC-ILO organisation. Experientia conducted a complete redesign of the ITC-ILO methods library (the Compass) of tools that […]]]>

The site is a toolkit comprising 60 methodologies, with the aim of diffusing learning and training knowledge and tools within the ITC-ILO organisation.

Experientia conducted a complete redesign of the ITC-ILO methods library (the Compass) of tools that can be used during training sessions and in the field. The redesign updates the visual look and feel of the Compass tool, as well as the methods themselves, refreshing the communications style of the contents, and developing a new system for cataloguing and navigating through them.

The ITC-ILO is the training arm of the UN’s International Labour Organisation. Based in Turin, Italy, ITC-ILO runs training, learning and capacity development services for governments, employers’ organizations, workers’ organisations and other national and international partners in support of Decent Work and sustainable development. The Compass is a project of the Centre’s DELTA unit. DELTA is made up of a team of specialists who combine expertise in learning and knowledge sharing methodologies with professional backgrounds in international development.

The Compass uses the metaphor of a navigational instrument to guide people through a repository of participatory learning, training and knowledge sharing methods. The new site significantly improves the information architecture and organisation of the available content, ensuring that the methods are easily findable, and offering guidance on the kinds of learning and training situations each method is suited to.

The Experientia team included Yosef Bercovich, Erin O’Loughlin and Gabriele Santinelli, under the guidance of the partner for communications Mark Vanderbeeken.

Experientia has worked with the ITC-ILO previously, designing their website, and a mobile site (iOS and Android compatible) to promote mobile learning methods.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/experientia-redesigns-online-learning-and-training-toolkit-for-un-affiliate/feed/0How Public Design? A conference at Mindlabhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/how-public-design-a-conference-at-mindlab/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/how-public-design-a-conference-at-mindlab/#commentsThu, 19 Sep 2013 19:36:50 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=16058MindLab, a cross-ministerial innovation unit in Denmark, hosted the seminar titled ‘How Public Design?’ for the second time on 2 and 3 September. This event gathered a distinguished group of decision-makers, researchers, experts and consultants of social change. As the previous event, the theme itself was subject to continuous reflection: what was ‘how public design’ […]]]>

MindLab, a cross-ministerial innovation unit in Denmark, hosted the seminar titled ‘How Public Design?’ for the second time on 2 and 3 September.

This event gathered a distinguished group of decision-makers, researchers, experts and consultants of social change. As the previous event, the theme itself was subject to continuous reflection: what was ‘how public design’ actually referring to? Most of the participants could agree that we were talking about a particular kind of ‘human-centered design’ approach. But was it a specific kind of thinking, process or method? Was it about exploring and characterizing a specific mentality or even personality as a ‘public designer’? Or was ‘public design’ perhaps a way of reframing ‘public sector change’ or ‘public policy’?

Last week Joeri van den Steenhoven, attended the How Public Design? conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, which was organized by MindLab, the Danish design lab that has been an inspiration to many in social and public sector innovation.

MindLab had gathered a small but global crowd, from countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Australia, Singapore, the Netherlands and Canada, most of whom were running innovation labs, such as Nesta, 27th Region, Kennisland, Stanford ChangeLabs and DESIS Lab at Parsons the New School for Design.

The conference looked at design-led approaches to innovation in government, and here are some of the lessons Joeri took home.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/design-innovation-and-government/feed/0Experientia designs mobile site for UN affiliate to promote mobile learninghttp://www.experientia.com/blog/experientia-designs-mobile-site-for-un-affiliate-to-promote-mobile-learning/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/experientia-designs-mobile-site-for-un-affiliate-to-promote-mobile-learning/#commentsThu, 05 Sep 2013 13:14:07 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=15937This week, the ITC-ILO, a United Nations affiliate, officially launched an Experientia-designed mobile site to promote mobile learning tools within the organisation. The mobile site is an internal communications tool to showcase best practice mobile learning use within ITC-ILO, and it has been designed to be optimally viewed from a smartphone or tablet. The ITC-ILO […]]]>

This week, the ITC-ILO, a United Nations affiliate, officially launched an Experientia-designed mobile site to promote mobile learning tools within the organisation.

The mobile site is an internal communications tool to showcase best practice mobile learning use within ITC-ILO, and it has been designed to be optimally viewed from a smartphone or tablet.

The ITC-ILO is the training arm of the UN’s International Labour Organization. Based in Turin, Italy, ITC-ILO runs training, learning and capacity development services for governments, employers’ organizations, workers’ organisations and other national and international partners in support of Decent Work and sustainable development.

With the dominant shift to mobile learning, ITC-ILO is keen to demonstrate how it uses mobile tools within its programs and frameworks, and to promote future use of mobile tools to extend ITC-ILO’s activities into a variety of settings, through a broader range of interactions with people, exploiting different types of content.

mobile.itcilo.org focuses on the three key advantages of mobile learning: improved ability to engage participants, with dynamic content, and lasting contact; more opportunities to share knowledge, from one to many, and from many to many; and the ability to connect and interact with information in new ways, generating meaningful insights and providing access to expertise and resources.

Experientia designed the site, and helped to develop the content and promotional materials. The site is optimised for iOS and Android, offering an excellent user experience from smartphone and tablet, as well as from desktop PC. It’s online at mobile.itcilo.org.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/experientia-designs-mobile-site-for-un-affiliate-to-promote-mobile-learning/feed/0Book: Putting Citizens Firsthttp://www.experientia.com/blog/book-putting-citizens-first/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/book-putting-citizens-first/#commentsTue, 03 Sep 2013 14:05:07 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=15934Putting Citizens First Engagement in Policy and Service Delivery for the 21st Century Evert A. Lindquist, Sam Vincent and John Wanna Australian National University – Co-published with ANZSOG August 2013, 220 pages Free pdf (alternative link) This book explores the ways in which governments are putting citizens first in their policy-making endeavours. Making citizens the […]]]>

Putting Citizens First
Engagement in Policy and Service Delivery for the 21st Century
Evert A. Lindquist, Sam Vincent and John Wanna
Australian National University – Co-published with ANZSOG
August 2013, 220 pages

This book explores the ways in which governments are putting citizens first in their policy-making endeavours. Making citizens the focus of policy interventions and involving them in the delivery and design is for many governments a normative ideal; it is a worthy objective and sounds easy to achieve. But the reality is that putting citizens at the centre of policy-making is hard and confronting. Are governments really serious in their ambitions to put citizens first? Are they prepared for the challenges and demands such an approach will demand? Are they prepared to commit the time and resources to ensure genuine engagement takes place and that citizens’ interests are considered foremost? And, more importantly, are governments prepared for the trade-offs, risks and loss of control such citizen-centric approaches will inevitably involve?

The book is divided into five parts:

setting the scene: The evolving landscape for citizen engagement

drivers for change: Innovations in citizen-centric governance

case studies in land management and Indigenous empowerment

case studies in fostering community engagement and connectedness

case studies engaging with information technology and new media.

While some chapters question how far governments can go in engaging with citizens, many point to successful examples of actual engagement that enhanced policy experiences and improved service delivery. The various authors make clear that citizen engagement is not restricted to the domain of service delivery, but if taken seriously affects the ways governments conduct their activities across all agencies. The implications are enormous, but the benefits to public policy may be enormous too.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/book-putting-citizens-first/feed/0User-centred design on Gov.ukhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/user-centred-design-on-gov-uk/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/user-centred-design-on-gov-uk/#commentsWed, 24 Jul 2013 08:26:44 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=15725The Design Manual of Gov.uk, the UK Government services and information portal, has a section on user-centred design, whereas the service manual home page describes in more detail how designers can build a gov.uk service: from discovery, to alpha, beta, live and retirement. “People come to GOV.UK with specific needs. Anything that gets between our […]]]>

“People come to GOV.UK with specific needs. Anything that gets between our users and meeting those needs should be stripped away. The design of GOV.UK reflects this, existing primarily as a way of delivering the right content and services to our users. Find out here how we approach this challenge.”

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/user-centred-design-on-gov-uk/feed/0Seoul, the Sharing Cityhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/seoul-the-sharing-city/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/seoul-the-sharing-city/#commentsSat, 06 Jul 2013 16:19:01 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=15651On 20 September 2012, the Seoul Metropolitan Government disclosed its plan for promoting the “Sharing City, Seoul” project, which includes 20 sharing programs and policies for generating or diffusing “sharing city” infrastructure after declaring the “Seoul as a Sharing City” vision. The Metropolitan Government regards “sharing city” as a new alternative for social reform that […]]]>

On 20 September 2012, the Seoul Metropolitan Government disclosed its plan for promoting the “Sharing City, Seoul” project, which includes 20 sharing programs and policies for generating or diffusing “sharing city” infrastructure after declaring the “Seoul as a Sharing City” vision.

The Metropolitan Government regards “sharing city” as a new alternative for social reform that can resolve many economic, social, and environmental issues of the city simultaneously by creating new business opportunities, recovering trust-based relationships, and minimizing wastage of resources.

In particular, the city plans to deploy secondary sharing infrastructure from now on to enhance the usefulness of idle resources such as space, objects, and talents since its urban policies have concentrated on constructing primary sharing infrastructure to date, such as roads, parking lots, schools, and libraries. Parallel to the above, the Metropolitan Government plans to implement policies of opening public resources to the citizens by having the public sector take the initiative while focusing on the implementation of policies that respect and promote private sector capabilities.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/seoul-the-sharing-city/feed/0Book: Legible Practices by Helsinki Design Labhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/book-legible-practices-by-helsinki-design-lab/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/book-legible-practices-by-helsinki-design-lab/#commentsSat, 06 Jul 2013 08:46:41 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=15642The social innovation book Legible Practices aims at codifying the practises of stewardship, as exhibited by innovators who are consciously rethinking institutions to better meet the challenges of today. It is the last book by Helsinki Design Lab, the recently closed strategic design lab of Sitra, the Finnish innovation fund. “Stewardship is the art of […]]]>

The social innovation book Legible Practices aims at codifying the practises of stewardship, as exhibited by innovators who are consciously rethinking institutions to better meet the challenges of today. It is the last book by Helsinki Design Lab, the recently closed strategic design lab of Sitra, the Finnish innovation fund.

“Stewardship is the art of aligning decisions with impact when many minds are involved in making a plan, and many hands in enacting it.

This notion comes to life through the stories of six projects on three continent, each an example of carefully rewiring institutions to better meet today’s challenges.

By zooming in on the details, a handful of practises emerge that will help you convert ideas into action. Each story is shared as a brief narrative which is then broken down into a network of interlinking practises.

In writing Legible Practises, the authors Bryan Boyer, Justin W. Cook and Marco Steinberg – hope to spark a conversation about the deep craft of social innovation as a reminder that, even when dreaming big, the details still matter.”

The case studies featured in the book:

Constitución (Chile): Redesign the city in 90 days through a co-creation process aimed at deliverying more resilient infrastructure and an urban form that provides greater social equity.

Brownsville Partnership (USA): Create a safer, stronger and more self-reliant community in Brownsville by working collaboratively with community, non-profit organisations, and public agencies to build a portfolio of complimentary services.

Creative Councils (UK): Support innovators in local government across England and Wales to develop and implement radical innovations addressing a long-term challenge that matters in their area.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/book-legible-practices-by-helsinki-design-lab/feed/0Design in Service: Crafting the Citizen Experiencehttp://www.experientia.com/blog/design-in-service-crafting-the-citizen-experience/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/design-in-service-crafting-the-citizen-experience/#commentsSat, 29 Jun 2013 09:22:00 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=15608Many agree that a combination of factors – a demand for better user experience, the rise of ubiquitous technologies and more readily accessible datasets – present the conditions necessary for a more enjoyable life as a citizen of our country. But necessity is just the mother of invention; it takes hard work to get there. […]]]>

Many agree that a combination of factors – a demand for better user experience, the rise of ubiquitous technologies and more readily accessible datasets – present the conditions necessary for a more enjoyable life as a citizen of our country. But necessity is just the mother of invention; it takes hard work to get there. To narrow the gap between today’s promises and tomorrow’s opportunities, designers are increasingly intent on improving what’s known as the citizen experience.

Anyone who’s interacted with an office of their local government knows that the public sector works as best as it can to serve the needs of its constituents. Organizations frequently adopt and adapt solutions along the way which inevitably introduces inefficiencies. Inefficiency, however, is something for which user-centered design is well suited. It’s just rarely the case that these two parties meet in the middle, despite the fact that they have so much to gain from one another.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/design-in-service-crafting-the-citizen-experience/feed/0How Obama used ‘Ethnography Project’ to defeat Mitt Romney in 2012http://www.experientia.com/blog/how-obama-used-ethnography-project-to-defeat-mitt-romney-in-2012/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/how-obama-used-ethnography-project-to-defeat-mitt-romney-in-2012/#commentsFri, 31 May 2013 14:32:27 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=15467Ken Walsh reports on how Team Obama made an unprecedented effort to understand the voters and speak their language, slicing and dicing the electorate with a sophistication and savvy that the Republicans couldn’t match and are still scrambling to replicate. “The Obama team’s opinion research was led by Joel Benenson, a tough-minded pollster from New […]]]>

Ken Walsh reports on how Team Obama made an unprecedented effort to understand the voters and speak their language, slicing and dicing the electorate with a sophistication and savvy that the Republicans couldn’t match and are still scrambling to replicate.

“The Obama team’s opinion research was led by Joel Benenson, a tough-minded pollster from New York. […]

In 2012, he succeeded, largely because the depth of his research was so extraordinary. Benenson says his goal as a pollster is “to understand the hidden architecture of opinion” and to “probe deeply into the underlying values and attitudes that shape how people are viewing the issues of the day and the content of their lives.”

One way that Benenson set the Obama campaign apart was through the ethnography project. It was designed as a deep dive into the world of everyday Americans not only to clarify their views on politics but to find insights into their “daily lives,” Benenson told me.

After the responses [to an online questionnaire] were analyzed, nine voters were chosen from among the participants in each of the three states, and they were further divided into groups of three, or “triads.” At that point, detailed interviews were conducted to learn even more about them as individuals.

They were questioned, for example, about their routines, their families, their concerns about the present and their hopes and fears about the future. Each of these sessions lasted about 2 1/2 hours. They were also asked whether Obama deserved to be re-elected, and why.

Benenson says this information, compiled into what he calls “ethno-journals,” was combined with the results of many regular opinion polls and focus groups. The ethnography project produced 1,400 pages of transcripts and data.”

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/how-obama-used-ethnography-project-to-defeat-mitt-romney-in-2012/feed/0Smart cities and smart citizenshttp://www.experientia.com/blog/smart-cities-and-smart-citizens/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/smart-cities-and-smart-citizens/#commentsFri, 31 May 2013 14:24:00 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=15462For future smart cities to thrive, it must be centred around people, not just infrastructure. This was the overwhelming message from a group of influential thinkers speaking at this year’s FutureEverything Summit. sustain’ went along to find out what smart-city planners can learn from bottom-up approaches. “It seems global corporations and the large-scale technology platforms […]]]>

“It seems global corporations and the large-scale technology platforms they offer and promote seem to be at odds with many of the localised, small-scale technology projects showcased at the Summit and, indeed, the interests of citizens themselves. And if there was one stark warning that emerged from the Summit for city leaders thinking about investing in smart-city technology, it was ignore your citizens at your peril. […]”

The city is what it is because of the people. […]

In many ways, social media has created a new interface for the city and how its citizens interact with it. Citizens have the opportunity to try something out, such as a pop-up café – and multiply it through social media and feedback via bespoke apps: physical activity and digital activity in harmony. Yet this appears to be contrary to the thinking behind many current smart systems which merely deliver information in order to change attitudes and behaviour. […]

Citizens are quite obviously embracing new technologies – but it isn’t always for reasons of efficiency: it’s about sociability; it’s about transparency; it’s about culture; and it’s also about fun – gaming and entertainment. Furthermore, a one-size-fits-all approach to smart cities will not easily work in an age where, even at the most basic level, apps designed for specific spaces or cities are prevalent on most mobile phones. Bespoke solutions will be required.”

“We have the technology to do anything. To make things happen you need to turn to design and redesign the context, the decision making and the question.” – Dan Hill, CEO of Fabrica, figured out that smart citizens are necessary to make smart cities. The institutions are collapsing, we have to decide on our own!

Dan Hill is CEO of Fabrica, a communications research centre and transdisciplinary studio based in Treviso, Italy. A designer and urbanist, he has previously held leadership positions at Sitra (the Finnish Innovation Fund), Arup, Monocle, and the BBC. He is strategic design advisor for Domus magazine, as well as blogging at cityofsound.com.

Dan Hill will be the second speaker at Experientia’s Talking Design lecture series now co-organized with three other companies and organizations: Deltatre, GranStudio and ITC-ILO. The talk will be at the beginning of July and we will announce it here very soon.

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/smart-citizens-make-smart-cities-a-talk-by-dan-hill/feed/0‘Open Data’ brings potential and perils for governmentshttp://www.experientia.com/blog/open-data-brings-potential-and-perils-for-governments/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/open-data-brings-potential-and-perils-for-governments/#commentsFri, 10 May 2013 09:32:49 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=15253Governments and public officials are rushing to embrace the concept of Open Data, throwing open the vast panoply of publicly collected information for the digitally savvy to mine and exploit, writes Ben Rooney in the Wall Street Journal.

However, the use of government data throws up many issues surrounding privacy, policy-making and the uses to which the data has been put. These need to be tackled before simply opening up these digital to all comers.

Some remarkable quotes:

“Anonymized personal data has to be treated as personal data and not open data.”

“The main problem with correlation is that if you look at enough data you can find correlations in almost anything.”

“It is very dicey when you start talking about causation… You know, we have real problems to solve.”

]]>http://www.experientia.com/blog/open-data-brings-potential-and-perils-for-governments/feed/0Libraries: a canvas for creating meaningful UXhttp://www.experientia.com/blog/libraries-a-canvas-for-creating-meaningful-ux/
http://www.experientia.com/blog/libraries-a-canvas-for-creating-meaningful-ux/#commentsFri, 10 May 2013 09:14:47 +0000http://www.experientia.com/blog/?p=15245Amanda L. Goodman is the User Experience Librarian at Darien Library in Connecticut. In this article for UX Magazine, she writes about her experience as a librarian in the USA: “Across the country, libraries are providing services and crafting experiences that make patrons’ visits meaningful and pleasurable. The focus has changed from providing books and […]]]>

Amanda L. Goodman is the User Experience Librarian at Darien Library in Connecticut. In this article for UX Magazine, she writes about her experience as a librarian in the USA:

“Across the country, libraries are providing services and crafting experiences that make patrons’ visits meaningful and pleasurable. The focus has changed from providing books and reference services to user experience—a change that has been partially facilitated in recent years by the economic downturn.

User experience is an important tool for libraries to employ against a number of competitors like bookstores and at-home Internet access. Libraries have taken this as an opportunity to provide services that are not available elsewhere. The strategy to focus on users and their needs has earned libraries strong support from the public as demonstrated by a recent Pew Internet study: an overwhelming 91% of Americans “say public libraries are important to their communities.”